ATHEISM

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IN BRIEF

Atheism is the denial of supernatural entities because of either a complete disbelief that any supernatural entities exist (strong atheism) or a belief that there is no evidence that supernatural entities exist (weak atheism). Agnosticism is similar to weak atheism but agnostics are not willing to commit.

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WHAT ATHEISM IS

The concept of atheism is very simple. An atheist does not believe in any supernatural entities - not the God of Abraham nor any other single god, gods or spirits. My belief as to atheism is an affirmative nonbelief and that is it. It contains no moral code and to try to give the word "atheism" any more meaning is to muddle and destroy the meaning of the word. Expecting "atheism" to be anything more raises an expectancy that cannot be met and should not be required. Atheism can be an element of one's philosophy, one which is not theistically ordained, but not one's entire philosophy as we will see below.

Not all persons claiming to be atheists, however, are quite so affirmative in their nonbelief in spirits, gods or a particular god. Some atheists will simply tell you that they have a nonbelief or absence of belief as to the supernatural. Of course, we are all atheists when we are born, because we are born with no knowledge of the supernatural. What we think we know about the supernatural is taught to us. Many atheists, however, after being taught and in many cases actively inquiring about the supernatural, still feel that there is no sustainable proof of the supernatural or, in some cases, proof of a particular god.

The atheism based on an affirmative denial of the supernatural is often referred to as "strong" atheism and the position based on a lack of belief is often referred to as "weak" atheism. It is my belief that the "weak" atheistic position comes close to being agnosticism and I passed through my agnostic phase long long ago! I adher to the "strong" atheistic position. More on why I hold the beliefs that I do as to the existance of a god or any other supernatural force can be found in material entitled Rejection of Theism.

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WHAT ATHEISM IS NOT

Atheism is a not a philosophy in the sense that a philosophy establishes values for individuals or cultures. Neither is atheism Satanism or devil worship. It is simply a belief that a spirit or spirits do not control the universe, because they do not exist or that there is not adequate evidence of their existence. Atheism does not dictate the standards by which you should live your life; neither does it preclude nor require that you even have standards. Atheism does, however, as stated, eliminate from one's philosophical considerations the possibility that the rules by which you live are theistically ordained. Many philosophies can have atheism as an element of their beliefs, but atheism by itself is not a philosophy, unless you broadly define philosophy as a belief in something.

Of course, detractors will immediately seize on the idea that atheism is a belief in a negative and many who might suspect that there is no God or gods and who desire a positive outlook on life will fear this negative perception. But, one must remember that atheism can never be one's entire philosophy. Never let a theist trap you into the idea that atheism is a negative Satanism or devil worship; have a set of positive values based upon your own beliefs and realize that atheism only denies that your values are theistically ordained.

I am neither an expert in nor necessarily a proponent of the philosophy of Ayn Rand, although I hope to include a study of her philosophy on this web site eventually, but her approach to atheism, I believe, is relevant to this discussion. She was an atheist, but was careful to explain that her atheism was not the main thrust of her philosophy. Atheism lurks within Ayn Rand's philosophy, but it has never been a prominent element. And that is where it belongs in anyone's philosophy. The problem that we atheists have is that the beliefs of so many persons are theistically based that the mere mention of an atheistic belief brings the issue right to the front and dominates all other issues.

I have found that the values of Secular Humanism are the closest of any set of beliefs to my own beliefs. It provides a positive framework of values while still denying the supernatural. More on secular humanism can be found in my article on Secular Humanism.

So, can you be an atheist and still believe in a religion? That depends upon how you define "religion".

One definition of religion is that it is an organized system of beliefs and rituals centering on a supernatural being or beings. Obviously, you cannot be an atheist and still believe in a religion based upon the supernatural.

The other definition of religion is that it is a set of beliefs that are upheld and pursued with zeal and devotion. Atheism simply denies the supernatural. It does not set or require any standards by which a person or society is required to live. If a nontheist does live by a set of beliefs and pursues them with zeal and devotion, then that set of beliefs might be considered a religion using this second definition, but the atheistic part by itself is not a religion.

Even if we were to expand the meaning of religion to include atheism using the second definition of religion, doing so complicates and confuses the issues needlessly. Most persons believe a religion to be based upon a belief in a god or some other higher or spiritual power. Any type of claim that an atheist can also be a religious person invites a semantical debate that only confuses everyone involved.

Finally, it must be pointed out that, while an atheist might advocate hate, anarchy, communism or dictatorship, those concepts have nothing to do with atheism. An atheist can just as easily believe in love, peace and respect for other humans and his or her environment. The only thing missing from an atheist's philosophy is a belief in spirituality.

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“ATHEISTS BELIEVE IN NOTHING” - A REFUTATION!

It is often said that “atheists believe in nothing”. That statement fails for at least two reasons.

First, as noted above, atheism is not a philosophy of life and never was intended to be such. To insist that it be a philosophy of life is mistaken in the least and dishonest if one ought to know better!

All atheism speaks to is the existence or nonexistence of God, gods or other supernatural entities. It does not speak to how anyone should live their life and it was never meant to provide that sort of guidance.

Second, while atheism is not a philosophy of life, it is very rare that an atheist has no accompanying philosophy of life. Most atheists are either secular humanists, brights, positive atheists or something in addition to only being an atheist. These belief structures provide atheists with the principles by which they live and to accuse them of believing in nothing is MISrepresenting the true state of the thoughts of most atheists.

Furthermore, these various philosophies of life are quite well developed. Check my links to the many national groups devoted to these various belief structures. Additionally, there are hundreds of local groups throughout the world devoted to various philosophies of life that do not encompass a belief in a God, gods or other supernatural entities. A simple search on the internet will link you to a vast array of groups devoted to ethical living without supernatural instruction.

And, interestingly, if you analyze theistic ethics and nontheistic ethics, you will find a close similarity. Volumes have been written on the subject, but most atheists believe that ethics are derived from our human nature, not from some supernatural entity in the sky!

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ATHEISTIC SOCIETIES

This is one area in which I have nothing except for a few preliminary thoughts. The belief in some sort of spiritual involvement is so prevalent that finding a society that avows no belief in spirits is very difficult.

Only two societies come to mind as possibilities – the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and Nazi Germany, both being failed societies. Communism and the USSR clearly avowed atheism and suppressed religious thought. Whether Hitler was an atheist is a matter of much disagreement. He certainly did not act like a Christian, but I have run into several articles that claim that he claimed to be a Christian. Studying these two societies will be a massive task, so do not expect much on this subject soon.

I will tell you that I do not feel that either of these two societies is representative of what an atheist society can be. Neither society was intolerable or failed on account of atheism. One can be an atheist and advocate, as I will on this web site, a much different society. For instance, I do not agree with the suppression of religious thought or conduct. Also, I do not advocate a dictatorship of any kind.

This is one area in which I am particularly interested in feedback. If anyone knows of any other society that might qualify as atheistic, please email me!

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